Democrats' Failed Attacks on the Koch Brothers

10 Nov 2014

Democrats and aligned groups ran “nearly 100 different political spots that ran in states from Alaska to Florida” attacking businessmen Charles and David Koch but a funny thing happened on the way to the would be lynching, according to the Washington Post.

… the issue failed to gain traction, and most of those Democrats lost.

The Post goes on to address the duplicitous nature of the ads … but then, what should one expect? They’re Democrats. Perhaps worse, what it shows is how badly those behind the smear campaign under-estimate the intelligence of your average voter.

Even as Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) repeatedly railed against the Kochs in speeches on the Senate floor, billionaire hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer commanded attention this year for the tens of millions he poured into a super PAC backing Democratic candidates.

Sadly, most assume both parties are beholden to big money at this point. Every Senate race this year saw an influx of tens of millions of dollars from both sides. That’s not unusual today.

“It’s very understandable for voters to feel like there’s a pox on both houses,” said Nick Penniman, executive director of Issue One, a bipartisan group working to reduce the influence of wealthy interests in politics.